Senna wins two BAFTA awards

F1 Fanatic round-up

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Ayrton Senna, Toleman, 1984

In the round-up: Senna wins BAFTA awards for Best Documentary and Editing.

Links

BAFTA Film Awards Winners and Nominations in 2012 (BAFTA)

Senna won two BAFTAs and was nominated in the Outstanding British Film category. Read F1 Fanatic’s nine-part series on The Making of Senna here:

    Webber again plays down retirement talk (ESPN)

    “I’ve been through enough on and off the track to know that nothing is forever. I was supposed to be replaced by Kimi [Raikkonen] four years ago.”

    Kobayashi ‘happy’ with start (Sky)

    “If I look at the whole picture I am happy with the first test. For sure we have found the right direction to go in.”

    Sale rumours hit morale at Lotus (FT, registration required)

    “Lotus Cars and its Malaysian owner Proton have dismissed speculation that the glamorous, but long-underperforming, UK sports car brand is about to change hands.”

    The uncertain future of the Nurburgring (Autosport, subscription required)

    “One scenario has both parties signing provisional contracts; another has each cutting their own deal with Ecclestone – financial suicide that would be, as anyone who has negotiated with Ecclestone can attest, but where desperate folk are involved all rational thinking goes out the window – but one thing is certain: Hockenheim will not shoulder the burden, and plans to stick resolutely to its (already loss-making) contract.”

    Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

    Comment of the day

    As one F1 film scoops a pair of awards, Steve Lambert’s been to see where the next one is being filmed:

    Just returned from the part built pits set at Blackbush, Hampshire. I was luckily able to see Hunt and Lauda race at Kyalami in ’76! Needless to say, can’t wait to see a film about these two heroes.
    Steve Lambert

    From the forum

    Lots of people were planning race trips last weekend – join in the discussion here:

    Happy birthday!

    Happy birthday to geo132, Jason, Sebastien Carter, shyguy2008 and Sparky!

    If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

    On this day in F1

    Toro Rosso revealed their second F1 car – the STR2 – on this day in 2007.

    Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed started the season as the team’s drivers. But by the end of the year Speed was out and Sebastian Vettel was in.

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

    Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

    65 comments on “Senna wins two BAFTA awards”

    1. I used to love the red bull on the Toro Rosso covering the whole back end of the car, but looking back the graphic stretching over the sidepods as well as the engine cover looks weird compared to what they do now.

      Glad that Senna is getting the recognition it deserves, I haven’t been able to see it yet but will one day

    2. There was a rumour that after a single year at Ferrari, in which he won the championship, Raikkonen would move to a team as weak as Red Bull (admittedly with the knowledge that Newey would turn the team around soon)?

      Does he mean 2 years, rather than 4?

      1. I don’t think there’s ever been anything to the rumours. It’s jsut Raikkonen fans assuming he will join Red Bull and creating extensive theories about how it will happen.

        1. And once again its Jason(a.k.a Prisoner Monkeys) who does not waste a moment in lambasting Kimi and his fans. Nice round-up though.

          1. Which team is Kimi Raikkonen driving for? I think it’s called ‘Lotus’? I forget: are they the same team as Red Bull? No? Well, then, obviously the rumours that Raikkonen was going to join Red Bull never came to anything.

            And I defy you to explain the “Raikkonen is going to Red Bull, because when he joined the WRC, he drove a Citroen and Citroen is a French manufacturer; Renault is also a French manufacturer, and they supply engines to Red Bull, so Red Bull sponsored the Citroen Junior Team so that they could take Raikkonen in 2011” rumours as being anything other than an unnecessarily-elaborate fan fantasy.

            1. I think I’ll replace Webber in 2013. I’m a “Mario Kart” master and I was used to date a French girl back in 2003 and her mother was a long time worker at a Renault factory in France. Being Renault Red Bull’s engine supplier, I think they have too many reasons to ignore me as the next Vettel’s teammate…

            2. @jcost
              You probably had them at “Mario Kart” and “French girl” already.

            3. @Jcost
              You were used to date a French girl? Used by who, and what on earth does that involve? :p

        2. @prisoner-monkeys I think @matt90 is referring to rumors that said that Kimi would move to Red Bull at the start of 2008 (after a year at Ferrari). Not the ones that have been flying around since 2010 about him moving to partner Vettel. I’ve never heard those rumors though.

          1. Exactly, and I never said there was anything in the rumours, I was just trying to work out why there would have been any rumours for 2008- seems like a silly time for people to think that Kimi would go to Red Bull, so I wondered if Webber meant 2 years ago rather than 4.

        3. It’s jsut Raikkonen fans assuming he will join Red Bull and creating extensive theories about how it will happen.

          @prisoner-monkeys Yes, and back in 2010 at least one of those fans went to the Netherlands, put on a Helmut Marko costume, and said things like this:

          “He (Raikkonen) has a contract with Red Bull, let’s wait and see how this develops,” Austrian Marko is quoted as saying by the Dutch website formule1.nl.

          “We have a large Red Bull family so there are many options,” he added. “We will have to see how he goes in rallying and what he wants to do.

          “But the idea is at least interesting,” added Marko.

          I’m not saying there has ever really been anything to these rumors, but they seem to originate with the media, not with fans.

          1. Yes, and back in 2010 at least one of those fans went to the Netherlands, put on a Helmut Marko costume, and said things like this

            It’s fairly obvious that Marko was simply answering a question about the possibilities of Raikkonen joining the team – and trying to be as diplomatic and open-ended about it as possible so as to avoid committing the team one way or another. Since nothing came of this rumour, there clearly wasn’t much substance to it to begin with.

            1. Yes, as I said, I was not claiming there was any substance to them. My point was just that the rumors have not been results of the feverish imaginations of Raikkonen fans; we read about them in the media like everyone else!

      2. I believe we are taking 4 years too literally. Rumours about Kimi to Red Bull started sometime in late 2009 once we knew he would be replaced by Alonso in Ferrari ..so that would be around 2.5 years. Now while just giving a quick reply to a journalist webber is not going to say he has heard rumours for 2.5 years right ? So assuming instead of rounding off to 3 years he just exaggerated to 4 years to make it sound as though people have been talking about his retirement for too long !!

    3. Also, no way! I can’t believe they’re actually using my local airfield to shoot part of the F1 film. I thought it was only rumoured a couple of weeks ago and had to get past some environmentalists first.

      1. Luckily the filming was allowed to go ahead! Good luck with getting to see a tiny bit of it :-)

        1. Highly doubt I could actually manage that, but even so it’d be cool to watch the film and be able to say “that’s where I first drove a car.”

    4. i live in basingstoke 15min motorbike ride from blackbush, i had no idea this was happening :(

      damn it!

      1. I’m pretty sure Ron Howard has shot on closed sets ever since The Da Vinci Code when upset Catholics kept trying to disrupt filming with protests against the film’s content. He had to do the same thing with Angels & Demons, too.

      2. I’m from Hook, right in the middle.

        1. i used to work in hook. small world mate

          1. Business park?

            1. yeah the murrell green one.

    5. Congratulations to everybody who made the film. Almost cried in the part about Brazil 1991. That was a real hero, that was real racing, that was Formula 1.

    6. So glad to see Senna properly appreciated, it really is an amazing documentary on an incredibly talented and interesting person.

      When they cover his funeral and cut from people’s faces there to footage of a special moment they spent with Ayrton, its just such a powerful scene. Everyone should watch it.

    7. Brilliant news :) I’ll be honest, had they failed to give it any nomination, I would have completely disregarded the BAFTA awards. Call it fanaticism, but that’s me.

    8. Personally I thought hat the film could have been even better.

      1. Agreed. Pandey told the story we all know, but I suppose that’s the story you have to tell for people who are new to the sport. My friends who have seen it who know nothing about F1 were amazed by the film, the man and the story, so I guess he told it well (even if it had a healthy degree of bias, and that is coming from a Senna fan!).

        When I was going through Keith’s “Making of Senna” articles again I couldn’t help thinking “They could have made a better film with all the stuff he said he had to leave out!”

        1. They could have made a better film with all the stuff he said he had to leave out!”

          Again showing how much of an abomination it is, that Bernie does not allow more of that footage being used for documantaries and movies!

          1. I know. I don’t see why he has to keep all the footage locked up, surely he could allow people to distribute it to us mere mortals and charge them a fee for doing so. Everyone wins that way: Film makers get to make films (and some cash), Bernie gets to make (more) cash and we get films with F1 cars in them!

            1. I think the target audience for that is too little. The average joe F1 fan doesn’t really care about the history of F1, only about the current championship. And we fanatics only make up a relatively small number.
              That said, I’d love a sort of netflix where i can watch old F1 races and other F1 related footage. What a shame it’s all locked up somewhere…

            2. I think I know where you are going, but there is still a (potentially lucrative) market for that sort of material. There are niche markets for a lot of odd products with a lot less devoted followers than the likes of us!

    9. Events are thin this time of year.
      really scraping the barrel with the “On this day” bit

    10. Bit disturbing in times like these that a man who could probably be declared medically retarded on the basis of his business plans can get 300 million dollars out of the malaysian government and waz it all away right infront of them. If i was malaysian i’d want some literal heads.

      1. Yeah, you don’t understand how business works, do you? dany Bahar didn’t just go to the Malaysian government and say “cheque, please, and make it out to cash”. He actually had to demonstrate that his plan was feasible to begin with in order to convince them to make the funds available.

        1. monkeys monkeys monkeys last time i’ll ever say it to you read my post before you come in with a half baked jab at me.

          “a man who could probably be declared medically retarded on the basis of his business plans”

          Seriously this was about half the content of my comment how selective is your eyesight?

          I know what his business plan was and it was herladed as universally stupid the day he announced it in much the same way as i will herald your above comment. It required selling about 100x more cars a year than they currently do and bringing out several brand new cars needing designing crafting marketing and with any luck shipping whilst funding an f1 team as title sponsor.

          Now back under the bridge with you least I loose the villagers with flaming torches.

          1. Seriously this was about half the content of my comment how selective is your eyesight?

            Not at all. Decause despite your declaration that Bahar “could probably be declared medically retarded on the basis of his business plans”, you have committed one fairly large oversight. And you managed to do it in your very next sentence: “can get 300 million dollars out of the malaysian government”. So despite your alarmingly-insensitive comments, you have missed the fact that Bahar got the money, even though you believe that any dolt with half a brain could see that his plans are really quite insane. If it was really so brazenly obvious that his plans were the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a semi-automatic, how did he get that money at all? Thus, I come back to my original point: you have no idea what you’re talking about because of this massive contradiction in your argument.

            Now back under the bridge with you least I loose the villagers with flaming torches.

            I love it when people argue ad hominem, largely because it is a logical fallacy in itself. You have chosen to argue that my post is invalidated because of negative characteristics that I display as a person – but in making that argument, you have managed to display those same negative characteristics that you claim invalidate my post, and therefore, your post is invalidated. Somehow, despite the scale of your earlier contradiction, you have managed to go ahead and create an even bigger paradox. At this rate, you’re going to cause the blog to implode some time before lunch.

            1. If it was really so brazenly obvious that his plans were the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a semi-automatic, how did he get that money at all?

              That one is easy, really @prisoner-monkeys, its pride (not wanting to admit their failure with Lotus) and playing with other people’s money.

              After all its not the guys that agreed with the loans, nor the banks providing them that will end up paying for them. It’s the Malaysian people’s money being thrown out of the window.

            2. That one is easy, really, its pride (not wanting to admit their failure with Lotus) and playing with other people’s money.

              I think you’ll find that the point of Bahar’s strategy is to establish the Lotus name in motorsports, and then re-launch the marque with a whole host of new models and using the motorsport connection to sell them. And I think the only reason why people think it’s a poor idea is because of the row over the use of the Lotus name last year.

            3. If it was really so brazenly obvious that his plans were the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a semi-automatic, how did he get that money at all?

              I believe you answered your own question: He got it from the government. If I had a dollar for every million given by a corrupt and/or careless government somewhere in the world for an obviously stupid idea, I would be wading through money shoulder high in my apartment.

              I see nothing in the original post indicating lack of understanding of business.

            4. But how do you know Plan Bahar won’t work? I’ve seen so many people say “it’s a bad idea”, but none of them give a reason why. How do you know that it’s a bad idea? Have you seen their actual business plan? Do you understand it? What could Bahar do differently in order to protect his company?

              corrupt and/or careless government

              According to the Corruption Perception Index, Malaysia is rated 60th in the world for corruption. It is rated fifth-best in the South-East Asia region (behind Singapore, Hong Kong Bhutan and Brunei); compare that China (75th), Thailand (80th), Indonesia (100th), Vietnam (112th), the Philippines (129th), Laos (154th), Cambodia (164th) and Myanmar (180th). So Malyasia certainly isn’t a perfect country, but I would not say that they are as corrupt or as careless as you are making them out to be. In fact, I would say that you are making them out to be corrupt and careless simply because they approved Plan Bahar, but again, how can you prove that this plan is destined to fail?

            5. @prisoner-monkeys

              The whole Lotus-Lotus-Caterham-Renault childplay aside, what Baher tries to do is make Lotus into a more luxury-centric brand, with cars being heavier and better equipped further going away from the motorsport roots.

              The one thing that sold Lotus vehicles was their niche market approach of building lightweight-fun cars, that are not kit-cars made in sheds with semi-reliable mass-market drivetrains.

              With the new Elise and Esprit concept he directly aims at the competition of the likes of the Porsche Boxster in price and spec. And that is, to say the least, bold. He mentioned this several times himself… He’s not a car guy. I’m convinced, that in the long term, making Lotus into something it has never been and never wanted to be is bound to fail.

              It’s like Porsche stopping the 911 in favour of the Cayenne and Panamera entirely, then claim motorsport connections to their LMP program.

            6. @prisoner-monkeys, in answering me you write

              And I think the only reason why people think it’s a poor idea is because of the row over the use of the Lotus name last year.

              and in your later post you add

              But how do you know Plan Bahar won’t work? I’ve seen so many people say “it’s a bad idea”, but none of them give a reason why.

              that is just nonsense, and you should know it.

              First of all, Lotus already has a name Motorsports, is did not need to be established. And if one wants to establish oneself in racing, it makes a lot more sense to focus instead of throwing money at just about every motorsport event there is.

              As for Bahar’s plans to take Lotus away from the niche it’s been in for 40 years now and take on the likes of Ferrari and Porsche with a range of new, sophisticated and up market models, where to start.
              These plans require a lot of investment in development of the cars themselves. Then to atcually produce the numbers of cars needed to earn money from it, Lotus has to 5-fold its production only to not to lose money. This is both capital intensive, and hard to achieve in the short term.
              Not to mention that it will need to actually sell those cars not to people who have been buyin Lotus for years but to a new customers, in direct competition with companies like Porsche and Ferrari, who do not even need much Marketing to sell their cars any more. A tough job to say the least, when one considers that Lotus has not had an easy time selling 2000 odd cars/year lately.

              And a lot of the critique was also because the cars Bahar presented were very far off the long standing tradition of Lotus cars being light and having superb handling. Something that got a lot of Lotus cars fans upset.

            7. In fact, I would say that you are making them out to be corrupt and careless simply because they approved Plan Bahar

              Well, you could, but you would be wrong.

              Actually, I base my assesment of Malaysia on the fact that my own country is comparable (a tiny bit better) in the said Corruption Index and just last year we have lost estimated 2×10^9 (billion) dollars of public funds through corruption. The 300mil$ mentioned in Malaysia is not significantly different from various “business” cases in our country that surface regularly and peter out, with no-one paying for mismanagement of public funds.

              I have seen government officials in action in half a dozen countries, ranging from those near the top of the “corruption list” to “midfield runners”, and I learned that by not expecting much of governments I get rarely disappointed.

    11. geo132, Jason, Sebastien Carter, shyguy2008 and Sparky SO many birthday,Happy Birthday to all, a special wish to my best mate @geo132.Enjoy the time today.

      1. That is a very healthy score of Birthdays today! Happy birthday to all of you, enjoy it @geo132, @prisoner-monkeys, Sebastien Carter, @shyguy2008 and @Sparky!

        1. Happy birthday @geo132, @prisoner-monkeys, Sebastien Carter, shyguy2008 and Sparky!

    12. Does anyone here have an idea of roughly how much they improve the cars from the first test to the first race in terms of seconds?

      1. Seconds is a lot. However, I think Mclaren gained 1,5 second last year. But they made an exceptionally costly mistake with their exhaust design.
        Unfortunately, I don’t remember @Bertie how I know this. Was it speculation from informed journalists, like James Allen? Quotes from other teams? Or quotes from Mclaren and if so were those given during testing or afterwards?
        Maybe Ferrari can do the same this year?

    13. Two deserved BAFTA’s for Senna. Perhaps I’m a little bias but it is a thoroughly good film. I ought to stick the DVD on one night this week in celebration.

    14. To everyone wishing me a happy birthday, it’s a different Jason.

      1. Good to know!

      2. That wouldn’t be Mark Jenkins from “The Hotel” would it?

        :D
        OK, so only UK viewers would get that….
        (Harry Hill TV Burp)

      3. Oh. Forget the wishes, then!
        (Also, can you please stick with an username for more than a day? :P )

    15. I lent my Dad the Senna DVD and he watched it over the weekend.
      Funny thing was he didn’t realise it was a 2 disc box and just blindly picked up a disc and popped it in.
      After 15mins he was thinking “I know it’s a documentary but this is a bit boring. Where’s all the footage?”.
      So he walked off for a cuppa and then looked and the box.
      Read “2 Disc”!
      Thought, “Oh!” and tried the other disc and loved it.
      :D
      You got to love parents and technology.

      1. @chalky I did exactly the same with The Godfather Part Two a while ago, only with that the film was split across two discs so I started watching it halfway through and couldn’t make much sense of what was going on…

        1. it makes an offer we can’t refuse :)

    16. Tom (@tomforpresident)
      13th February 2012, 8:44

      Well deserved win for Senna, brilliant film, was so stoked when they announced it.

      Also anyone who is interested in the new f1 film rush and isn’t already should follow @RealRonHoward on twitter, he is being very generous in showing pre production photos, hopefully that will continue into production. If he isn’t too busy, you know, directing a movie…

    17. I’m glad Senna won but I still don’t think it’s as amazing as all the hype suggests. For people who perhaps aren’t sure of his career or who aren’t really F1 fans, perhaps it works. For me however, aside from a couple of bits of new footage, it seemed little more than the kind of tribute video you find on many drivers on YouTube. Perhaps I’m missing the point though.

      1. @dan-thorn I watched it a second time the other week and I agree, I don’t think it is as great as the plaudits seem to suggest. The first time I watched it I think I got carried away with the new footage but the second watch made me revise my opinion somwhat.

        My main gripe is it is not very balanced, some of the content is just plain misleading i.e. After Suzuka 1989 the film makes out Senna was stripped of the world title, rather than just the race win. Even if Senna had kept the win Prost would still have won the title anyway because he DNF in Australia.

        The best part of the film by far and the only bit I feel deserves the hype is the sequence about Imola ’94, that was very moving. The rest in my opinion is somewhat overrated.

        1. I hate to say it but I agree with these comments. It’s a great film, but it’s not a classic – but then again most non-F1 fans I know that have seen the film say it’s amazing, and that’s what really matters I guess.

          We fanatics know the story, we just want the odd new bit of footage!

          + The 1994 bit was indeed very moving.

    18. Funnily enough i was looking at the film at a WHSmith store near me on Saturday. Delighted to hear all of this. Might, no I MUST pick up a copy one day.

    19. I like the Raikkonen comment by Mark Webber. However, one can assume that if it is true that Red Bull were interested in Kimi back in 2008, then there is nothing stopping them from becoming interested again! Ofcourse alot depends on how things pan out at Lotus and how well Webber performs. Its worth remembering that Mark didn’t have the best of years in 2011, certainly when you compare it to the year before when he was a title contender, and that he had a great car at his disposal.
      Like with all teams, there is always someone else waiting in the wings when drivers are not performing. Just look at Felipe Massa in 2011, with all the rumours of Perez taking his seat at Ferrari, something that may still happen unless Felipe gets back to form.
      Naturally I hope Webber and Massa both have great seasons, especially Felipe for I fear the clock is ticking not in his favour at Ferrari. I can see Raikkonen at Red Bull though, even with Sebastien Vettel there. Kimi’s got the nuts to take that job on because I don’t think he cares one bit what people think or say. It would really be something to see Raikkonen again driving a Newey designed car, especially if it is a rocketship like we have seen the last two seasons.
      But, as usual, trust Webber to come out with some good sarcasm! Love it…

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